Saratoga News

City pays high school for use of its facilities

By Cecily Barnes

Three weeks ago, the city of Saratoga gave Saratoga High School $10,000 in exchange for use of its fields and recreation facilities. According to city recreation director Joan Pisani, use of the high school's gymnasium will allow the community's 45-and-over men's basketball league to clear its waiting list and include everyone in the game.

"We are going to expand our 45-and-over men's league from six to eight teams because we have that many people on the waiting list," Pisani said. "The 45-and-over teams play year-round. These guys don't ever want a break."

Men's 45-and-over basketball is only one of the activities offered for both adults and children at Saratoga High School. Others include tennis, hockey, softball and soccer. Signups begin this week for the men's 35-and-over winter basketball league. All of these activities are in high demand, Pisani said.

"It's a win-win for both the high school and the city," Pisani said.

"I think it's a good example of the city and the schools working together to try and improve recreation facilities," said SHS Principal Kevin Skelly. "We're using it for our classes, and the community is getting a lot of use out it, too."

The agreement also assists SHS in paying off its loan taken out to build their new track.

"We took out an $80,000 loan about 18 months ago to build our new track, and now the debt is down to $20,000," Skelly said.

The city and high school worked out an agreement regarding the hourly cost of the facilities. City Manager Harry Peacock signed a $10,000 check up front that will be used incrementally as the city rents the facilities. Once the $10,000 is used up, a new deal will need to be struck.

"We have an agreement that says we'll rent those facilities at a certain hourly rate," Peacock explained. "It's sort of like a credit card; we've given them money in advance, and we translate that into facility use."

The agreement between the city and high school was reached months ago, and approved by the City Council in June along with the annual budget. The city already has similar agreements with West Valley College and Saratoga Union School District.

"We thought it was really nice that the high school district was open to letting us use their facilities for our leagues so we can keep expanding our community recreation," Peacock said.

"We wouldn't be doing it if it didn't recover all of its costs," Pizzani said.